Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Open letter to Jimmy Carter: Don't you have any shame?

President Carter,
somewhere Quixotic I want to forget in Georgia

I have just read that you are planning a trip to Venezuela sometime in April, depending how the rioting goes. Right... I also learned that you have written to Maduro and Capriles, arguably the leaders in Venezuela. In particular I note this sentence to Capriles that was picked up by newspapers: "send signals of their willingness to alleviate the present state of tension"; though in all justice you also wrote the following: "It is difficult for elected officials from opposition parties to resolve differences when they feel threatened and persecuted". However, that you assume that in Venezuela today the opposition has concessions it can make do betrays an extremely poor understanding of the situation. Or utter cynicism, your choice.

Please, desist from your trip: you have absolutely no credibility in Venezuela. Here is why.

Your last actions in Venezuela have had disastrous results for the democracy here. When these became obvious you remained strangely silent for years, and only suddenly you wake up again. I will summarize just three of them that would require from you the most sincere apology and attempts to make amends if we are ever to consider you seriously again.

You promoted in 2003-2004 a discussion table so that we would go to a recall election. We should have never had to negotiate on that since it is a constitutional right. But your "negotiation" gave in fact the ability to the regime to manipulate the conditions for that right as it pleased, resulting not only in electoral fraud but also into the Tascon List which it is still in application today. I have yet to read an unambiguous stern condemnation of the Tascon List from your part. In case your forgot, the Tascon List was the list with the names of the millions that signed for a recall election and who since have been actively discriminated against by the regime. Also, the members of that table that you were supposed to protect have done poorly since, without a word of protection from you. In short, your lenience toward Chavez then was a nice stepping stone for the abuses that came later.

You called very early, too early, the result of the recall election of 2004 as fair. You always refused to look at the statistical evidence presented by many people that questioned the quality of the result. By doing so you gave an argument to Chavez supporters around the world that this was the "best" electoral system even though with time even the Carter Center has come to acknowledge some problems. Following this laxity we got an outright stealing of election in April 2013 that we are waiting, by the way, for the Carter Center to at least make a strong "exhortation". In short, your blind eye to early electoral violations have not only allowed for Chavez autocracy to consolidate but has allowed Venezuela to lose free and fair elections altogether.

A few months after the recall election you interceded so that your friend and noted narcissistic opportunist Gustavo Cisneros would not be hurt too much by Chavez after his initial opposition. Maybe you wanted to keep fishing pabon in peace with him? Whatever that meeting was it started with the political self neutering of Venevision network, which was followed by the closing of RCTV, its main business competition and little by little in the end of freedom of expression and information on the air waves of Venezuela. Have you ever expressed regrets? Cisneros certainly has not. In short, you are in part, large part maybe, responsible that in Venezuela today we have lost freedom of expression.

Based on these three items I shiver at the thought of what future calamity your announced visit would bring to us. Maybe the validation of concentration camps so that protesting students could cool off for a few years while not endangering themselves or the community?

I can assure you that half of the country has no respect nor credibility for you and the other half thinks you are a mere fool that they can use and discard as needed.

I think that not only you should desist from your trip, but should never mention us again. You have cursed us enough as it is. We will appreciate your future silence since nothing good ever comes from your statements on Venezuela. Worry not, I am sure we will find more worthy mediators.

Politely,
Daniel Duquenal

Note: this does not apply necessarily to the Carter Center who could be considered for future elections as it has shown signs to finally understand how unfair elections are. They do not have credit or trust in Venezuela but they can still do amends if they operate together with objective organizations like the European Union observers. But you, we do not want. If you were to persist in coming after this letter I promise to do my best to counter your visit, circulating petitions, picketing myself your hotel if needed, even if the Nazional Guard of Venezuela starts beating me up because of you.

First, Saddam Hussein of Iraq says he'll sell oil in Euros not US Dollars. We all know what the US did to him. Then Chavez says he'll sell oil in Euros not US Dollars. He then is ousted but Carmona's stupidity saved him. Regardless, Chavez didn't sell oil in Euros. Carter steps in to help stabilize Venezuela so the oil & Dollars will flow. The US could care less who is in charge there as long as the oil moves & the Dollar dominates.

actually...... The US really doent need Venezuelan Oil. Sure the three Cracking Facilities will be downsized by not refining Venezuelan Crude, but the NET NET affect on the US Economy woul be less than minimal. This should be an option for Obama the next time Maduro threatens to stop sending Oil. Most people fail to understand; Venezuelan Crude (MOST) leaves to either pay its debt with China, or to American Refining Platforms. Basically, the US stops revieving OIl, Venezuela implodes in less than a month.

To add to my last point: A LARGE PERCENTAGE of Venezuelan Crude coming to US Refineries is then sent back as Diesel. The Companies do not Bill Venezuela, due to the Venezuelans history of not paying. They simply send back a pre-determined quantity, less than what was shipped, as payment. Basically, 200,000 Barrels of Petrol sent daily for conversion to Diesel returns LESS THAN 30,000 NET NET Barrels back to Venezuela. The Country is in ruins ! ! !

Indirectly it does. What happens with Venezuela's oil affects the world market. If Venezuela were to stop producing it would raise the price of oil considerably. The US also wants to keep the dollar as the worlds reserve currency. It cares about that therefore it cares about keeping oil sales in dollars.

Darren," If Venezuela were to stop producing it would raise the price of oil considerably."No, the world price would likely decline since Venezuela would have to sell its heavy oil at a big discount in alternative markets. Transportation costs to China are quite large. Very few refineries outside Lousianna can handle the heavy crude.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries can up production considerably and quickly to replace Venezeulan oil sales.

Great testimony, Daniel. May I add of his going to Cuba and praising their system, criticizing his own country from that Castro-communist island. Carter is not very well liked in our country since he was not a very effective president during the Iran crisis and also the exodus of Cubans during the Mariel boat lift that brought a good number of real delinquents and psychiatric patients that Fidel didn't even want, to the United States. He was never re-elected. Let him raise peanuts that obviously is what he was meant to do and stay away from international relations. He was a disgrace in Venezuela and most remembered by how partial he was towards Chavez in that historical election , when he called the validity of the results before anyone else. There were also obvious conflict of interests since His lack of wisdom and cultural sensitivity with his superficially bright affect is quite annoying appearing cynical in a serious situation. His presence in Venezuela would be highly detrimental towards reaching any kind of constructive dialogue We should not allow this character in Venezuela.period..

Sorry I had to erase my last comment because of errors...I 'm very farsighted...

I would suggest that Venezuela skip International Observers...

1. Because there is no over-arching international standard as to what constitutes a free and fair elections

2. In a Democracy there should be opportunities for effective participation, equality in voting and gaining an enlightenedunderstanding etc....something that International observers would have a hard to time accessing in Venezuela.

A democracy consists of more than well conducted elections. A functioning democracy involves an entrenched and adhered to constitution, strong democratic institutions, an accountable public administrative apparatus, the rule of law, mechanisms capable of checking the power of political officials and the willingness of the political elite to adhere to democratic values and principles.

I doubt when they determine the fairness of the elections, they are not including what happens before and after the elections which should be part of the assessment.

Jimmy Carter has a leftist agenda, is as dumb as a doornail ( being a blind ideologue),and should do the world a favor and make amends.

I love how some make the wildest assumptions, throwing words like "huge" carelessly.

Let me put it this way, as long as the Republican Party does not remove from its agenda creationism, homophobia and pro life commandments there is no way I can consider voting for them. It is that simple. I put my principles ahead of my wallet, sorry.

No one is talking about your "wallet", we are talknig about YOUR FREAKING LIBERTY.

Before you can fight for your adored gay rights you have to have liberty.

Jimmy Carter is for gay rights and gay marriage and pro abortion all the right issues -in your book- but he also has an affection for tyranical socialist governments that purport to be for the right issues, and so is the entire Democratic Party.

Othen than a "tepid" show of concern not a single voice in the Democratic Party has spoken in support of your liberty Daniel while I saw last night in CSPAN dozens of Republicans speaking one after another in support of your liberty.

It seems to me that you have become what you hate, someone that can't accept people with different opinions with regards to gay issues or abortion issues and will refuse or abhor -because they are not cool in you view- any support they might give you.

When I am not free to love who I want I am not free. When my friend cannot control her family planning she is not free. When my child is forced to be taught religion at school, my parenting is not free.

I appreciate greatly what Rubio has done, I even wrote that his speech was extraordinary, but that is not enough to turn me into a Republican. You should know better than that. You should also know that great speeches in the Senate are not automatically translated into actions. As a democrat (Athens sense) I am able to evaluate people on their merits and like them or not, whether I vote for them.

The Republicans have gone too far to the right, and the Democrats too far to the left. The Republican party will not turn back Roe vs Wade, and legal abortions, as well as gay rights will remain if the Republican party is back next term. Gustavo is correct- very silent Liberal Democrat reaction to events in Venezuela. I'd trust the Republicans to respond far more that the current occupants at the White house.

"When my child is forced to be taught religion at school, my parenting is not free."Please refer me to any Republican initiative forcing your child to be taught religion at public school.Apparently you cannot fathom the reverse discrimination that is removing the right to teach religion at ANY school by the godless leftists.

That is spot on Daniel. Jimmy Carter was, arguably, the worst president in my lifetime. His bumbling foreign policies, in many ways, led to the radicalization of Iran. A visit from Jimmy Carter would be a blow to Democracy in Venezuela.

Well written Daniel.Jimmah is our worst ex-President. Had he stuck to building autographed chairs to fund his Carter Center, the world would have been a lot better off. Disclaimer: I voted for him- once.

I see a lot of comments from some so-called oil experts discussing if Venezuelan oil is important or not to the US. This is not about that, this is about how Jimmy Carter messed up everything here and I bet it was not for free.

Carter's visit might not be as bad as you suggest if he makes at least some demands of Maduro, because right now Maduro refuses to concede anything.

Those who complain about the Democratic Party in the U.S., please tell the GOP stop climate change denial, stop hating immigrants and stop trying to start wars in the Middle East and then the GOP might become a viable alternative.

You are, obviously, a troll/chavista/government thug probably on the payroll of the discredited Maduro/fascist regime. Anyone, with even a modicum of objectivity, can see what is happening in Venezuela, i.e., the suppression of human rights. Go ply your wares on another site.

Re: If you were to persist in coming after this letter I promise to do my best to counter your visit, circulating petitions, picketing myself your hotel if needed, even if the Nazional Guard of Venezuela starts beating me up because of you.

Mr. Carter, please try to speak with the lady who died in 1839 or so who voted for Chavez. I would like to hear how she did it. This is truly a marvelous democracy when even dead people voted! I hear ACORN registered a lot of Dem voters from a Chicago cemetery in the US. I'm sure Mr. Carter approved of that as well.

It is outrageous that many here feel its fine to verbally attack a living ex president. Notice to non-USA citizens the secret service still monitors and protects ex presidents so you should be careful with the mud slinging. Although, he made mistakes and had failures has many people DO in life. He also had great success that we are thankful for such as Camp David Accords, SALT II Treaty, Panama Canal Treaty. Please speak with knowledge and not ignorance. Although, the unrest in Venezuela is very sad, we all want the country to be strong and that all Venezuelans are treated with dignity and respect. If opposing sides cannot resolve then I have no problems with a multitude of individuals volunteering their time if they can bring at least one side to the table. Thank You - Dalia

Yes I did and had no problem with what he said. My problem is the attacking tone that the blog presents and mis-information stated on his presidency and even ex presidency. This may be an issue of trust for the anti-gov't groups but if the government is open to dialogue with him then the opposition should take advantage of this. Carter can't negotiate for the opposition only get each side to possibly see another channel for bringing the chaos down and moving towards discussion. I'm not defending his actions in 2004 nor am I defending the actions of the gov't or the opposing side. I'm not Venezuelan, nor have any relatives but do have many friends and given that I was born and raised in the USA doesn't prohibit me from having an opinion on conduct and accurate information. Thanks for engaging in dialogue.

The fact that someone with as little intelligence as he has ,simultaneously has the audacity and ambition to become President of the most powerful country in the world, is enough to warrant the justified ire from many.

On the other hand,you cannot expect to play around with the future of another country like he did and not be the but of insults.As a self appointed expert on Democracy he offers his services to third world countries and often decides whether to give a good house keeping seal of approval to their elections.

In the case of Venezuela by endorsing elections that were probably stolen or in the least extremely one sided he extended the duration of Chavista governments until they reached untenable levels.

Allowing public figures to be immune to insult, is a form of authoritarianism.

The idea behind that is erroneous and untrue:" People have to be respected because they are High -up "

yeah sure.....that is the kind of thinking that leads us straight to Hell.

We understand that as an employee of the Carter Center (Am I right?) you feel the need to defend him and actually threaten us with reprisals. This is EXACTLY what chavistas have done all along, threatening me uncounted times.

But even if I were to take you at your good faith, I can counter your arguments with a simple question: how effective can be a mediation by Carter when nobody trusts him the country? Think about that, for his merits or demerits, in Venezuela no one trusts Carter.

Oh my dear Dalia. I'll be brief. I, like you, was born and raised in the USA. I have carefully reviewed the comments on this site and have not found one threat to the person of Jimmy Carter. You rightly state that the Secret Service zealously protects Presidents and Ex-Presidents and their families from bodily harm, but not criticism. In fact, one of the hallmarks of Democracy is that we have the right to criticize our leaders, both past and present, unlike the citizens of Venezuela. You mentioned the Camp David Accords. The peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. It did not address the Palestinian issue which everyone knows is at the heart of any possible peace in the Middle East. And, Anwar Sadat, the Egyptian President, was assasinated because of the Camp David Accords. I ask you, are we any closer to peace in the Middle East today? I think not.As far Salt-II, it was never ratified by the Senate of the US and Carter himself withdrew the proposal after the Soviet invaded Afghanistan in December of 1979.I'll give you the Panama Canal. It was the right thing to do. However, in the light of the rest of his Presidency, Carter was an abject failure. Just ask Anwar Sadat.David Lyons

No you are wrong. - Sorry, let me rephrase that.... Dear Daniel you are incorrect. I don't work for Carter Center, Don't know anyone that does. I don't even work in any political type of organization, just a citizen speaking my mind. You interpret my disagreement as being pro Chavista, not sure why because I thought I was clear, I'm not defending Carter but do give respect for work that does have merit and is recognized worldwide as a good thing (ie the various treaties) that is why I listed the positive things he had done. I take issue with inaccuracy of certain individuals posting absolute statements. Never said what Carter did in Venezuela prior to this visit was wrong or right. To answer your question, mediation can only be done by a neural third party to facilitate dialogue, the decision as I stated earlier still belongs to the two sides arguing. In the end, does the opposing party care who can bring the government to the table or at minimum ensure that the government even actually participates and talks. The decision is not by anyone doing the facilitating. Trust must be earned if the opposing party does not with to meet with Carter they don't have to but they could ask him for something in return for neutrality if he is that untrustworthy. Hope that helps clarify my viewpoint.

Remember its about Venezuela. All, thank you for letting me participate in the dialogue, in case I didn't answer I was frustrated with the verbal attacks, and like discussions to stay on facts not insults. I never thought anyone made any physical threats. Calling people idiots, monsters, worst person ever are absolutes and is what is the problem in today's cultural. Everything becomes "my way or the highway" that is not forward looking. This blog is about Venezuela and the crises they find themselves in, so I would hope that more posts/blogs etc are about alternatives, actions that move the country forward. I'm putting the 39th US President back in the history books now, but I did enjoy the discussions. Thank you .

A couple of points. Let me say up front, I voted for Mr. Carter and I also agree he did many good things. I don't think the invective directed at him, while it is often juvenile and stupid, is any worse than I see on comment sections in most US publications, so I don't think anyone has anything to fear by writing it. I'd prefer I higher level of discourse, but its the nature of the beast. Yes, someone can draw law enforcement attention by threatening violent action, but it usually has to be more direct, the first amendment still gives people wide latitude. That is not the case in Venezuela, where free speech is severely constricted.

I also think, as I said above, some good things might come from Carter's visit. However, since I know Daniel is not some far right fanatic who reflexively rips Democratic politicians, I take his criticism of Mr. Carter's past action seriously.

I live and work in Venezuela and can assure you that the letter represents 100% what people on both sides of the political spectrum think about Mr. Carter. His role in 2004 was of very low statemanship. He brokered a "deal" where none could be brokered and he did so in the name of democracy. Even today, after 15 years of leading country and economy to the brink of disaster, he still considers it possible to negotiate with the present Chavista leaders. Mr. President, this is politics, not a business deal! You cannot and shall not squander the future of Venezuela again!

I say this as a liberal... Carter is the quintessential embittered retiree and certainly our absolute worst ex-president. He was given a gold watch and a boot when he lost the election to Reagan. Normally you go do something services like his habitat for humanity or even stay in the political area but you are expected to always work with and for your successors in a capacity in which you are conformable and never outwardly working against them, especially w.r.t. foreign matters. But no. He as meddled with and undermined EVERY president's foreign policy since then and then wags his finger preachily at his successors when they do something that he wouldn't do, etc. Other ex-presidents have been comparatively gracious and professional in the public light. But never Jimmy. Still bitter and never presidential. He should stick to building houses instead of making the world drink his sour grapes.

Derek, this was written tongue and cheek over a decade ago. I would direct you to presidential historians or authors. Jimmy Carter though religious operates under a moral compass (not shared by all), however, his purported comments/praises of individuals that are not well liked to me is more of a tactic he uses. Haven't you heard you can catch a bee with honey...etc etc. But thanks for the humor....forgot it was on the Simpsons....

Now that the Revolution and it's jack -booted GNB and Cubans Thugs ARE being Televised (so take that Eva Golinger), perhaps Jimmy Carter will learn his lesson. Nobody here of any importance believes him on any political matters or international affairs, though he does good work for poor people in the Habitat for Humanity program. Sometimes, people here wish he'd stay away, and let real Democrats run the party again.

Carter not only screwed royally validating the results of the referendum when he did not have the info for doubg so, but the Carter center held a biased conference to show mathematical models showing there was fraud were not correct.

But more importantly, it should not be forgotten than two years earlier the Carter Center never answered the simple question: Did the Carter center receive contributions from the Chavez Government?

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